


Momento Mori

by AliceinTricksterMode, XVIIstars



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen, Ghosts, Haunted mansion, M/M, Multi, Paranormal, haunted
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 13:25:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15664098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceinTricksterMode/pseuds/AliceinTricksterMode, https://archiveofourown.org/users/XVIIstars/pseuds/XVIIstars
Summary: •Inspired by Disney's The Haunted Mansion, in honor of its’ 49th anniversary •When hinges creak in doorless chambers, and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls...that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight.Two foolish mortals move into the decrepit Hallwinter Manor, only to find that themselves caught amongst a centuries-old family feud that refuses to die.





	Momento Mori

**Author's Note:**

> *THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS THEMES OF SUICIDE AND MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH*

1860, Hallwinter Manor

 

The moon hung low in the starry sky as guests flocked to the Hallwinter manor, which overlooked craggy cliffs that tumbled down to an unforgiving sea. The wind was frigid, suggesting a bitter winter storm approaching, but the manor itself was swollen with warmth and laughter, dancing and spectacular merrymaking. None in attendance lacked name or status, but the manor’s masters were amongst the most prominent in the country. And tonight’s festivities were in honor of the newly married Hallwinter heir, a man set to inherit the fortune his family had made and clung to desperately for generations. His Christian name was Lord Sildar Barold Hallwinter, but he was better known simply as Barry by those in his closest circles. For a newly married man, Barry was far from celebrating, anxiously wading through the sea of guests in search of long, flaxen curls and a secretive, mysterious smile. As guests to the manor greeted him, he smiled politely and welcomed them to the reception, but was quick to excuse himself to keep delving deeper into the crowd. She had sworn her attendance to him merely a week ago, and she wouldn’t have broken her word…

The grand hall’s clock chimed loudly twelve times, causing the entirety of the crowd to erupt in boisterous applause for their host. It was almost dizzying, looking over the sea of rich fabrics and unfamiliar faces; he almost felt like he was drowning. Barry’s acute panic at the swelling crowd was nearly enough to push him into an anxiety laden spiral, but thankfully his eyes finally fell on a familiar face.  A tall, elegant woman pushed her way to his side, her dark, knowing eyes catching his attention as she took his hand and squeezed it gently. As Barry’s eyes met hers, the swell of his anxiety settled; Lucretia was by his side, was keeping him level, her smile ever reassuring as she studied his face, 

“Hello there, stranger.” She teased, her smile gentle, concerned as she looked him over, “Are you...handling the party alright?”

“I...yeah, much better with you here.” He admitted, scratching his chin in embarrassment. He worried his lip, pulling Lucretia into a cordial hug after a moment to hide his words from the other prying eyes around the room, 

“I haven't seen Lup anywhere.” Barry admitted, voicing his concerns to his closest friend and now...wife.

Lucretia stiffened in his arms, scanning the room as she positioned them to dance, so as not to raise suspicion.

“What do you mean?” She whispered, her eyes never meeting his as she diligently looked over the faces of the partygoers. Despite her nervous tone, she maintained a pleasant smile. “She accompanied me on the carriage here. She should be amongst the party by now...”

“Perhaps she became tangled up in the servant’s affairs while putting away your cloak,” Barry reasoned, but a chill ran over his spine as his eyes yet again scanned the room and...yet again came up empty. He tried to keep his emotions in check, but images of the worst possible kind kept clawing their way into his mind. There was no reason to think that anything like that would befall her. This wasn’t the first time Lup had been pulled away from them, expected to serve her duties rather than keep his company. Barry took a deep breath to calm his racing heart but it sounded more like a wheeze than he cared to admit. His chest felt tight. Something was terribly wrong. 

“Lucretia, please...you’ll help me look for her right?”

“Of course, my darling friend...” she soothed, but she was also becoming apprehensive at her servant’s absence, “Where could she have possibly disappeared to? This is a happy day for all three of us, after all.”

Barry nodded, but didn’t seem to be really listening to what she said, his eyes still wandering over the room, “It’s entirely probable that she’s just among the other servants, especially if my father saw her unattended... but...” He gave a sigh, focusing his attention on her after a moment. “We’re expected to make our wedding speeches soon. I think my father might make a scene if we leave them waiting too long.” The comment was more a reminder to himself than to his dance partner, trying to keep his thoughts in the moment. Internally, a knot was forming in the pit of his stomach. Lucretia squeezed his hand reassuringly, centering him once again.

“Let’s quickly give our regards to the guests and present our speeches, then we can search for her.” Lucretia suggested, always ready to compromise. After a long moment, Barry nodded and kissed her hair, if only to hide the trembling.

“Are you ready, Lucretia?” He breathed, smiling gently but politely. It was almost too formal, a clear sign that he was nervous.

“Of course, Barry. And steady yourself, old friend, we’ll find our Lup.” She held his hand tightly in hers, a small but reassuring gesture. 

Barry nodded, grateful for Lucretia’s quiet strength and ability to ground him. He smiled cordially for the crowds of onlookers and walked up the grand staircase with her hand in his, a hush falling over the ballroom as all eyes turned to them expectantly. Barry took a deep breath, and began the carefully crafted speech that had been prepared for this occasion...but he couldn't focus on his delivery of his hollow words, his thoughts too preoccupied by the one person not in this room. His mind kept screaming that something was wrong, that Lup would never miss this moment, this speech, the beginning of their new life together. 

After all, he was officially wedded to his childhood friend on this night, their wedding ceremony beautiful but...disingenuous. This, however, was all part of the plan that he, Lucretia and Lup had all agreed upon. In his mind, proposing to Lucretia would save them both: for Barry, there wouldn’t be the danger of being separated from his lovely Lup ever again, and for Lucretia, there wouldn’t be the danger of being wed to a (god forbid) red-blooded man who would expect certain… marital commitments to be upheld. And maybe most importantly, it permitted Barry to keep Lup by his side without anyone questioning the nature of their relationship. 

_ Lup...  _

The more his thoughts wandered to Lup, the harder it became to carry on with the prepared speech. Barry’s mouth became dry as he stumbled over his words, trailing off and forgetting his place. The audience seemed to find it endearing, just a sign of his wedding night nerves, which raised a few good natured chuckles...but God, his mind screamed at him to tell everyone here who he really wanted to be wed to. He wished he could declare his undying love for the curly haired little vixen Lucretia had taken under her wing all those years ago, and more importantly, he wished that his damned father didn’t already know who she was so he could properly present her as his bride.

_ Oh Gods above Lup... where are you…? _

Lucretia noticed her husband’s sudden falter and gracefully finished their wedding speech, pressing a chaste kiss to Barry’s lips as the crowd let out a thunderous applause for the “happy newlyweds”. His mind could not have been any further than the ballroom in that moment, his thoughts everywhere except the rigid, overly formal pair of lips pressing to his. After a moment of standing on display for the crowd, Lucretia swept Barry off of the staircase and into a quiet hallway for a moment of peace. There was a certain pity she couldn't help but feel for her old friend who, unlike her, was already madly in love with someone else. It must be torture for him to be here, masquerading a happy couple with her. As they stood in the silence of the secluded hallway, Lucretia pressed a hand to his cheek, rubbing comforting circles into the skin there. Even she could not explain away her favorite servant’s absence, and, for the first time that night, she became seriously nervous for Lup’s wellbeing. 

“Barry, I hate to worry you but something definitely isn’t right. All of the servants were in the hall for the speech and she wasn’t. Lup would not have missed it for anything...” she breathed, looking around nervously for any potential eavesdroppers. When she was sure no one was looking, Lucretia smiled secretively and leaned in, “She was so looking forward to this day. She gushed about it all week.”

His heart sank as he twirled his wedding band around his ring finger nervously, thinking of where Lup might go and why. He eventually just shook his head and decided action was more important than theorizing, looking at Lucretia again with an intense gleam in his eye. His determination was renewed; his needed to find Lup and bring her back to his side where she was meant to be from the start. 

“We need to split up and find her.” 

Lucretia nodded solemnly, already formulating a plan. “I’ll check the west wing, you check the gardens. I highly doubt she’s anywhere partygoers are, especially if we haven’t seen her yet.”

Barry kissed her forehead thankfully, taking a deep breath and steeling himself as he met Lucretia’s dark but comforting gaze. “I’ll find you in a bit, Lucretia.” He started to step away, then looked back at her. “And...thank you.”

\---

Lucretia’s heels clacked against the expensive natural stone of the strangely silent west wing, ringing loudly throughout the otherwise still area. Just as she was really beginning to snoop around, an older gentleman’s voice rang out from the corridor behind her, nearly scaring the life out of her. 

“Lucretia, the beautiful bride of the hour! What are you doing all by your lonesome over here? The guests are so excited to speak with you!” John Hallwinter’s voice said, calm as always as he came to her side and offered her his arm. Ah, Barry’s father and now her father-in-law,  _ great _ . She laughed and feigned innocence, taking his arm as he looked at her expectantly.

“Oh so sorry Lord Hallwinter, just got a bit turned around while looking for the washroom. I need to powder my face once more before going out amongst the guests, as you can imagine. Wedding day nerves and all of that.” She lied with a calm smile. He smiled just as politely, but there was venom in the way he looked at her.  

“Ah, I see, you’ve almost made it.  Just two doors down.” He seemed to look thoughtfully over her for a moment. “You really are the perfect image of a blushing bride, I am quite proud to call you my daughter.” The words sounded innocent enough, but they made Lucretia's skin crawl. “Oh, but I forget my place! I am sorry to have bothered you Lady Lucretia, I only meant to let you know that that the suite for Sildar and yourself is ready. All of your bags are packed and ready for your trip in the morning, I’ve arranged for everything to be taken care of, there’s no reason to worry about anything but your evening with your new husband. I do hope you enjoy the rest of the festivities, after all it is your night.” He smiled to her once more before offering her a brief bow and disappearing back into the thick of the ball.

Lucretia’s wary eyes never left his retreating form, making entirely sure he was gone before hurrying down the hallway and past the room she’d already known very well was the washroom. As long as she wasn’t interrupted again, she’d have plenty of time to cover the whole west wing before she met up again with her dearest friend, but after the bizarre encounter with the lord of the manor...Lup couldn’t appear quick enough.

\---

As Barry wandered through the garden,  he couldn’t help but think of all the times they had spent here, Lucretia always nearby to act as an alibi should anyone ask. But now it was frigid and blustery, the usually sunny garden pitch black where the light of his lantern could not reach, and Barry couldn’t help but muse that this weather mirrored his own thoughts, his own fear in that moment. The knotting, sickening feeling in his stomach just grew by the second, surely brought on by his own anxiety...

A familiar voice carried on the wind, breaking past his own racing thoughts, drawing his attention to a balcony overlooking him. “Barry!” Even from the distance, Barry could tell that Lucretia was worried, was fretting over Lup. She leaned over the edge, waving wildly to catch his attention. She had nothing to report, her efforts in the west wing fruitless, and she didn’t know how to tell him. Barry’s heart dropped as he studied her face, already knowing that whatever news she had wouldn’t be good. Still, he nearly tripped over himself to hurry closer, now standing just below her and looking up to the balcony.

“Did you find her?” He tried, not able to quell the tiny hope she might be waiting just inside of where the balcony opened up.

She shook her head, hugging her arms tightly to her chest as she shivered, looking over the gardens as best she could with the lack of light. Unlike her husband, who was wearing a beautiful and warm robe for the festivities, she had on only her lacey, frilly wedding gown to keep her warm. The wind was coming in stronger now, promising a storm was close at hand, and Lucretia turned her back against the huge gust. “Barry this is pointless! Lup wouldn’t be foolish enough to go outside in this weather! Let’s talk inside - meet me in your bedroom?” She called to him, shielding her hair from the wild flurry of wind threatening to ruin her intricate updo. He agreed, running back into the warmth of the manor and towards his personal chambers. 

Barry’s footsteps came thundering down the hall to his private study, and it became apparent how...deathly silent the halls were, almost more still and eery than normal. And his feelings were reinforced by a frantic Lucretia pacing near the closed doorway of Barry’s room.  

“It’s locked?” She hissed, looking over him in confusion. He, of all people, did not lock his doors, ever. Especially since this affair with Lup had started. 

“I don’t... I can’t remember locking it when I left but... perhaps I did?”

“Well, it’s no matter now, where’s your key?” Lucretia’s usually calm voice was shaky, strained, her stomach dropping to the floor. If Lup were in trouble, she knew this room was unlocked. She may have even locked herself in to keep safe but the thought filled Lucretia with utter dread. 

“H-here.” Barry said, quickly feeding the brass key into the keyhole and turning the lock, throwing the door open and rushing inside. 

\---

And...there was Lup.

\---

There are rare, life-changing instances that demand to be experienced without a person’s consent. And this was one of those moments, as they entered his room, that was happening without Barry or Lucretia’s permission.  There was a brief, painful moment of white hot shock that coursed through both of their bodies at the scene in Barry’s quarters. A body lay crumpled at the foot of the otherwise normal room, too still and too silent and too lifeless to possibly be Lup. Flaxen curls spilled all around the body like a veil and her skin was too perfect, drained of color as her freckles faded one by one. 

Barry swore his heart stopped in that moment. He forgot how to breathe, and his body no longer had the will to keep him standing. He wasn’t sure of how he ended up on the floor beside her but it only took him seconds to lift her from the ground and cradle her in his arms. She was light, limp. “Lup! Oh my god... oh my god...” He was shaking, his head spinning as he looked over her face. Blood spilled from her lips, beautiful and terrible, her skin pale and... and cold. “Lup please... oh my god... Lup...”

No other words meant anything to him, it was all he could to to repeat her name over and over again. Lucretia could only watch, choking out tears with a shaking hand over her mouth. She fell to the floor, paralyzed by the scene that was playing out before her, shaking her head in silent protest. 

“Ba-rry…?”

A whisper, barely even discernable over the grief swallowing the room whole, caused a sudden, desperate but hopeful silence. 

“Lup!” He could hardly make his voice heard, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of him twice in a matter of moments. His arms still shook but they held her body desperately tight to his chest. Tears began to wash down his face as he thought even just for a moment that everything would be alright. “Lup, hold on, we’re going to get you help, you’re going to be ok...!” The words were an empty promise, but it was all he could say to keep himself even the slightest bit calm. “It’s going to be ok...”

“I’m so...rry...I...love...you so…” Her fading voice gave way to nothingness and just like that, Lup was gone. Her entire existence, her warm smiles and bright eyes and languid smirks, everything that made her Lup was just...gone. 

\---

Cold and still. Everything was cold and still. The room around him. The woman in his arms. He felt his own chest losing warmth, he felt his heart stopping. It was all he could do to pull her form off the floor, moving her to his bed. He couldn’t even seem to control what he was doing anymore, his body just moving and acting on its own. 

“Barry...?” Lucretia breathed through her own sorrowful tears, watching her dearest friend quietly. She didn’t know how she could help, she was...in this moment, entirely useless. And now Lup was dead and god, she’d never felt more lost in her life.

“Go find my father,” he said with a sort of strange confidence. His voice was still, sure. “Tell him there’s been an accident.”

“I...yes.” She said, hesitating to leave him for a moment before wiping her eyes and quickly leaving to find the lord of the house. 

Once Barry was alone he looked over his beloved’s body, laying on the bed in an almost mockingly peaceful display. He felt cold. He felt empty. She was all he could see and he couldn't bare to look at her any longer. That’s when he forced himself to turn away, and that’s when he saw the ceremonial sword mounted above the fireplace. It had been passed through the family for countless generations, but Barry had never enjoyed it being displayed so tastelessly in his personal quarters. How ironic...now he had never been more relieved to see it. There wasn’t much left for him to consider, and after a moment he leaned down to kiss Lup, his lover and his most cherished friend, for what he knew would the last time. The blood from her lips smeared across his, and he walked slowly, deliberately over, and pulled the sword from the wall.

\---

When Lucretia returned with Lord Hallwinter in tow, the room was unnaturally quiet. Two bodies lay across Barry’s bed, the blanket under them drenched in blood, dripping on to the floor lazily. Barry’s shirt was torn open and his neck was bare, exposing the gaping slash. His regal blood was still slowly trickling from the mortal wound, painting Lup’s simple smock crimson. A beautiful sword lay bloodied and abandoned on the floor, resting just below Barry’s open palm.

Even in death, his arm was possessively around Lup’s body, holding her so she lay against his chest. Both of their faces held such deceptively peaceful expressions amongst the carnage surrounding them; it seemed that, finally, they were able to express their undying love without fear. 

Lord Hallwinter was pale, trying to make sense of the scene before him. And inevitably, the ever prying guests of the reception started to flock to the doorway to see what had sent the bride crying hysterically into the ballroom only minutes prior. When faced with the unfathomable scene, a few of them started to scream. One man yelled to find a doctor. 

Lucretia couldn't hear any of the commotion behind her. It wasn’t until she looked over the room once more in her state of numbing shock that she noticed the bottle. It stood neatly on Barry’s otherwise empty desk, resting on top of a cleanly folded piece of paper. Her hands shook as she picked both items up, unfolding the paper slowly. Her heart nearly stopped as she realized who the letter was addressed to. The writing was sloppy, hasty even, but readable. There was no mistaking who had penned it. 

\---

“My darling Lucretia,

There is no easy way to say this, no easy way finally tell you how I feel. Everything is wrong, the sneaking around, the secrets. I can’t bear to see Barry married to another woman. He’s all I’ve ever wanted in my life, and to see him stand with another, to see him hold you, it destroys me. I hope one day you’ll forgive me. I hope one day Barry will forgive me. None of you deserve the burden that I am to your lives, so tonight I’m righting this once and for all.”

 

There was no signature at the bottom, just a soft impression of lips in a beautiful red color that barely fit between the rushed confession and the corner of the paper. And below that, two more words were written, almost lost by a few large wet circles that were beginning to bleed the ink around them.

 

“I’m sorry.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading the first chapter of "Momento Mori."  
> It's been years since I've written an actual fanfiction, but my partner and I are very excited to get back in the swing of things!  
> If you enjoyed reading this, please leave some feedback or a kudos! We hope to have the next chapter up soon!


End file.
